I recently came into a chest freezer for free and was thinking about investing in a temp control so that I could brew at lager temps. I have heard that a cooler, slower ferment produces a much better product when it comes to cider/apfelwein.

Any advice on brewing cider/apfelwein at lager temps? Specifically, what temp? Will I need to use a yeast starter? Anything else that I should know?

I'm actually having same kind of situation. I'm getting a chest freezer that I thought I'd use to mature my cheeses, but I was also thinking perhaps I should use it for cider making.

My apartment temperature is around 21C (70F) but I can't really put a fermenting bucket to our living room. Therefore I will be brewing in the balcony, but the temperature there changes quite dramatically (8C-30C) and I thougth the freezer would keep my carboys on steady temperature.

So I'm also interested, but can't really answer anything. I was thinking of setting the temp to 19C (66F) but it would be nice to know how temperature effects the fermentation. I was planning on using Safale S04, or Nottingham if I could get it somehow.